Cool visit to Haxey Parish Church

Four and five year olds from Westwoodside C of E Primary School visited Haxey’s St Nicholas’ Church to explore and had a good poke around the pulpit.

The Rev Jeremy Green welcomed them in to the impressive building and showed the party around.

Two pupils’ names were found in the baptism book before children were allowed to clamber up the pulpit. Mrs Helen Cooper told the party that the vicar could check who was asleep during his sermons from the top.

The stained glass windows, chalice and altar were all investigated, as were the kneelers and their illustrations charting local events through the years. A competition was held to find the tractor on the kneeler and one or two lucky pupils got to try on robes.

School bishop’s visitor Eileen Owers provided drinks and biscuits for all before the party made its way back to Westwoodside.

Before leaving they gathered in the children’s area in church and talked about their favourite part of the visit.

Comments were made about the size of the church by the impressed youngsters.

Assistant head Helen Spowage said: “As a church school we have strong links with St Nicholas’s and are fortunate to be able to walk to the church to see at first hand the inside of such a wonderful building.

“The children, although only four and five years old, had a real sense of awe and wonder as they walked in to the building, and at the calm and coolness it created on a hot day.”

The visit was planned as part of the religious education curriculum for the children to learn about ‘what is a place of worship’.

“The children were keen to listen to the wealth of information passed on to them,” added Mrs Spowage.

Haxey Parish Church is known locally as the “Cathedral of the Isle” being the largest church building in the Isle of Axholme. It has six bells and a rare, ancient carillon which plays three tunes. The parish of Haxey includes the villages of Westwoodside, East Lound and Graizelound.